Uconn

Solid secondary among positive signs for Huskies BY ED DAIGNEAULTRepublican-American

There are plenty of unknowns surrounding the UConn football team this year. That makes 2012 just about the same as most other years.

Rare has been the season when the Huskies have gone into things knowing they'd be good and then simply having to prove that on the field. The Huskies usually either exceed expectations or play right to them.

Little is expected this year, but only because the Huskies are hard to figure mostly because of the quarterback situation. Nobody really knows what that will mean for the offense.

There are, however, a few areas in which the Huskies look solid and most of those are on defense. The Huskies could have the best defense in the Big East and one of the best in the country. We don't necessarily know that, but we can make a safe guess.

The questions outweigh the knowns, but it's worth addressing the five things we figure we'll get from the Huskies.

1. A solid secondary: It wasn't too long ago that the defensive secondary was a huge issue for the Huskies. They had talent there but they were young and it showed all too often, particularly in 2010, the last year of Randy Edsall's tenure. Time was needed for those players to get some experience and figure out college football.

They've reached that point. Dwyane Gratz and Blidi Wreh-Wilson are a fearsome cornerback tandem. Ty-Meer Brown and Byron Jones were thrown into starting safety spots last year and after a few missteps proved themselves more than capable of doing the job. If there's a weakness, it's lack of depth at safety but that could be moot if Brown and Jones stay healthy.

2. A reliable running game: This is the one thing that UConn has been good at doing offensively since moving to the FBS. From Terry Caulley to Donald Brown to Andre Dixon to Lyle McCombs, the Huskies have always been able to run the ball because of good offensive-line play. Much of the offensive line returns, as does McCombs, so there's no reason to expect things to change.

An added wrinkle this year is the possibility of a wealth of depth at the running back spot. UConn has usually had one back carry the load with an understudy waiting. This year, the Huskies could have as many as four backup running backs get a significant number of carries. Initially, that will only help as the QBs fight for the starting spot.

3. Aggressive defensive play: Where Edsall favored a more laid-back approach on defense, more of a reaction type of defense, Paul Pasqualoni prefers to get after it. That's why he brought Don Brown in as defensive coordinator. The Huskies attacked like crazy last year and often it backfired because the old charges needed some time to get used to the new, more complicated schemes.

The Huskies lost only three starters from last year's defense. The returnees know what to expect and are much more familiar with the defense. Brown will take his chances, much to the delight of UConn fans. The Huskies will get burned at times it's a hazard of the approach but they are also likely to wreak plenty of havoc. It should be fun to watch.

4. Reliable tight ends: Ryan Griffin is considered by some to be UConn's top NFL Draft prospect come next spring, and with good reason. He catches just about everything thrown his way, he's big, he can run and he performs well when called upon to run block. If the quarterbacks can get him the ball more frequently, Griffin might be the Huskies' biggest offensive weapon.

But it's not all him. John Delahunt possesses many of the same abilities, though he's not exactly fleet of foot. Delahunt, however, is good enough to not be considered a backup by the coaching staff but rather a second starting tight end.

5. Linebacker factory: The Huskies have produced some excellent talent at linebacker over the years and this season might rival any of the previous ones in that regard. UConn returns three starters in Sio Moore, Jory Johnson and Yawin Smallwood. Between them, they have played in 74 games in their careers. And there's even some experience in the backup corps.

Brandon Steg and David Kenney have played in 28 games. Jefferson Ashiru has played in just one but appeared ready to make that many more in the spring. The linchpin of any defense is its linebackers and the Huskies certainly have something to crow about at that position.

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